Stars in a Time Warp

Follow by Email

Followers

About Me

I've owned my quilt shop since 1990, specializing in antique reproduction fabrics. Made my first quilt in 1976 which greatly reduced my sewing of clothing! Would like to find more time to SEW.......maybe when I retire? Am married to a farmer, have 3 children and 4 grandchildren who are the light of my life!!!

Ann Robinson Bedcover
-
This bedcover is one of the earliest quilts in the Shelburne Museum
collection, and is on the cover of the book Enduring Grace, Quilts from the
Shelburn...

3 years ago

Monday, March 25, 2013

Bits & Pieces and New Book

Have been going through some boxes in the attic recently and found a treasure trove of small fabric samples to cut into 1-1/2" squares for my postage stamp quilt............would love to have it be a Charm Quilt also.....each fabric used only once! The packets above represent only a small sample.....the four at the top of the photo are the Smithsonian samples from around 1994-95! When I first opened my shop in 1990, we had few salesreps (and no Andover, Moda, or Windham yet!) and this was the method of ordering fabric..........never one to throw anything away, I saved them. I know where there is another box full but not all the fabrics will be useable to me as they are not all reproduction.

This is a lovely new book from Betsy Chutchian and these are the two quilts I would like to make! Love this Courthouse Steps done in mostly madders and shirtings, with a few greens, yellows and indigoes thrown in for good measure!

And then another Favorite! Pinwheels, again in the madder fabrics I love.....brown, rust, gold, red, pink and again I see some poison greens and indigoes for interest!

Just finished quilting the border on "Stars to Freedom" from Carol Hopkins' "Civil War Legacies" pattern. Love this wavy border that I have been using for a few years.....have 3 different sizes. The red pen is "Sewline" from United Notions....I use only the White tho it comes in other colors too; it gives the nicest, and thinnest line, to follow while quilting and by the time the quilting is done, there is not much left that is easy to remove just by brushing or using the eraser on the pen. Great also for marking applique pieces.....

Another darling little Four Patch quilt from my friend, Wendy! She used Brackman's "Metropolitan Fair" line...............love how she placed the stripe for the borders! Machine-quilted around the blocks but hand-quilted border with her lovely stitching! Should have used a coin for a point of reference.....the blocks are 1" finished.

This little quilt hangs in my shop ......made it about 16 years ago when someone gave me a shoebox full of 1950's scraps (and some a bit earlier)......all neatly cut and stacked in the box....perhaps for a railfence block? The string star pattern just happened to be in an issue of Miniature Quilts (sure wish we still had that magazine available!) received about the same time!

Cyndi, you sure do have a treasure trove of oldies, but definitely goodies. Love the little quilt your friend made for you. I have to agree about Betsy's latest book I have seen the quilts in person and they are wonderful.

Love your little string pieced star! Just purchased the same Jo tower of blue and Betsys newest book. The border stencil you are using is one of my favorites..have it in all three sizes but use the small and medium the most..what a fun post this was to read!

Isn't it fun to dig through the attic and find something wonderful! Yay! And your quilting on that border is wonderful. Thanks for the info on the marking pen. Wendy's little quilt is so dang sweet! And all those fabrics are gorgeous....and yeah, I love those Jacobean prints, too! Yummy!

Aren't you smart to have saved those samples. Loved reading and viewing your post. The little quilt you received is so beautiful with the Metropolitan Fait fabrics, and the new line of blues is wonderful. Thanks for sharing so many great pics. Another scrap bag as a giveaway is very enticing!

I bet it's fun to go through all those forgotten pieces of fabric - lots of memories in those little packets. Love all of your projects. I've got Betsy's book on order and can't wait to see it in person!

New quilter and overwhelmed by the fabric choices. Yet I see that variety seems to make the quilts I'm drawn to. Still learning this art I have admired for so long and your informative blog certainly improves my skills. Thanks. Karen in Vancouver.